American Doll Posse
''American Doll Posse ''is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. The album was released on X, 2007 by Epic Records. The album was written after the re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States. Amos sang the songs on the album and bonus tracks as five different characters comprising the titular 'Doll Posse': Clyde, Isabel, Pip, Santa, and Tori. Each character was in turn inspired by figures from Greek mythology. Amos then went on to perform as all five 'dolls' during her 2007 world tour. American Doll Posse ''received ... reviews. Two singles were released from the album, "Big Wheel" and "Bouncing Off Clouds", the former of which gained attention for its controversial bridge. Not long after the album, Amos parted ways with Epic and became an independent artist. Background Following songwriting during and after Amos's 2005 solo tour, recording sessions for ''American Doll Posse began in June 2006, with longtime collaborators Matt Chamberlain on percussion, Jon Evans on bass, and Mac Aladdin on guitars in Amos' home studio Martian Engineering in Cornwall, like all of Amos' albums since From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998). As the album's musical direction was more focused around a full band than previous Amos recordings, all principal musicians were present in the studio from the very beginning of the recording sessions. After a month of tracking work, Amos continued editing and recording for the remainder of the year, at the same time working on the promotion for her career-spanning box set A Piano: The Collection. Mixing work was completed by February 2007, and the album title was announced through a press release on February 20. Prior to its release, Amos revealed that the nature of the album's lyrics are political and confrontational: {{cquote|The main message of my new album is: the political is personal. This as opposed to the feminist statement from years ago that the personal is political. I know it has been said that it goes both ways, but we have to turn it around. We have to think like that. I’m now taking on subjects that I could not have been able to take on in my twenties. With Little Earthquakes I took on more personal things. But if you are going to be an American woman in 2007, with a real view on what is going on, you need to be brave, and you need to know that some people won’t want to look at it. While early press indicated that Amos may bring back both the harpsichord (last used on Boys for Pele) and the Wurlitzer (used on Strange Little Girls and Scarlet's Walk) only the latter appeared on the album, on the track "Dark Side of the Sun". Before the album's release, Amos made several comments about bringing a "warrior woman" out, as well as stating that the record would be a very different chapter from what had come before. As with Amos's previous releases under the Epic Records label, American Doll Posse was offered in a limited deluxe edition as well as the standard edition. The deluxe edition includes two videos (a behind-the-scenes of her photo shoot and a slide show-style bonus track titled "My Posse Can Do"), an expanded booklet, and five postcards, one of each "doll". In addition, bonus tracks were available on the editions sold by certain retailers such as iTunes and Target. American Doll Posse serves as Amos's third and final album under her contract with Epic records. After completing promotion of the album, Amos announced that she would from now on be operating independently of major record labels, expressing increased frustration in the industry putting boundaries and limitations on artists. Recording ''American Doll Posse ''was recorded at Martian Studios in Cornwall, England, at which all of Amos' studio albums had been recorded since ''From the Choirgirl Hotel. ''Amos produced the album. Title and artwork Release and promotion Singles Critical reception Commercial performance Track listing 1. Yo George 2. Big Wheel 3. Bouncing off Clouds 4. Teenage Hustling 5. Digital Ghost 6. You Can Bring Your Dog 7. Mr. Bad Man 8. Fat Slut 9. Girl Disappearing 10. Secret Spell 11. Devils and Gods 12. Body and Soul 13. Father's Son 14. Programmable Soda 15. Code Red 16. Roosterspur Bridge 17. Beauty of Speed 18. Almost Rosey 19. Velvet Revolution 20. Dark Side of the Sun 21. Posse Bonus 22. Smokey Joe 23. Dragon Special Edition bonus tracks: My Posse Can Do (iTunes and Borders exclusively) Drive All Night (iTunes and Borders exclusively) Miracle (iTunes and Borders exclusively) Category:Tori Amos albums